National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine and President Yoweri Museveni donation of cars to Kibuli faction are being revealed as some of the reasons why Siliman Kasule Ndirangwa chose to resign days to his sacking.
Ndirangwa, who took over from Supreme Mufti Zubair Kayongo who died in 2015, resigned Thursday night.
He said his resignation was for the good of Islam, after he admitted he was wary of wrangles and disagreements within the Kibuli faction.
Although both Ndirangwa and his deputy Sheikh Kibaate Muhamood Kibaate could not reveal much into these disagreements, sources familiar with the wrangles at Kibuli have pointed to two issues: the politics of Bobi Wine and the cars Museveni donated to clerics.
Museveni car donations, Prince Nakibinge and Bobi Wine politics
Sheikh Ndirangwa has for months been under fire for reportedly disobeying Islamic Faith titular head Prince Kassim Nakibinge.
Prince Nakibinge is said to be a very close ally of Bobi Wine.
In 2020, he held a closed door meeting with Bobi Wine months before the singer-turned-politician’s nomination as presidential candidate.
After the meeting, Nakibinge hailed Bobi Wine for preaching peace.
So, Nakibinge was annoyed when he learnt that Ndirangwa had led a team of Sheikhs from Kibuli faction to meet Museveni.
The Supreme Mufti Ndirangwa-led Sheikhs had asked the president to help them with vehicles to help them in transport, and to preach the gospel of wealth creation to their congregation.
Museveni donated 11 four-wheel drive cars to the Kibuli faction clerics, and a similar number to the Old Kampala group.
But Prince Nakibinge reportedly warned Ndirangwa and the Kibuli sheikhs against using the cars from Museveni.
And for months, the cars remained parked at Hotel Africana.
It is not clear whether the decision to later distribute the vehicles among sheikhs, and to to register the same under these clerics’ names was in defiance of Nakibinge’s orders.
But the 11 cars from Museveni were later shared among top Kibuli faction sheikhs.
The powerful Muslims that control the Kibuli faction would later fume and hold several meetings in which they resolved that Ndirangwa and all the sheikhs who received the cars be humiliated by being fired.
But, according to sources, Ndirangwa would later learn of this plot to humiliate him, thus rushing to announce he had thrown in the towel Thursday night.
Pearl Times News could not independently verify this claim as well as one that all sheikhs who accepted Museveni’s car donations will soon be publicly sacked.
Sources further claimed that Sheikh Ndirangwa had refused to be dragged into opposition politics, was always reluctant to hand Bobi Wine a chance to address Muslims at Kibuli, and had chosen to cooperate with Museveni.
That this had angered those who matter at Kibuli, who consequently considered him a stumbling block that needed to be ejected with a humiliating sack announcement.
